YOUSUF Falah was crowned champion of this year’s The Godfathers Tournament, played at Funland Centre’s bowling lanes in Manama.
Falah clinched the title after defeating Ahmed Al Awadhi 258-216 in the championship game of the step-ladder final round.
Falah was the top seed heading into the step-ladder, and he lived up to his billing.
Al Awadhi did well to make it to the title-deciding step. Entering this stage, he was seeded fifth, having booked the last of five tickets into the round. In the first match of the step-ladder, the Al Awadhi was pitted against fourth-seed Ahmed Al Malki and third-ranked Sami Saloom.
Al Awadhi had the best score from the trio of 243, while Al Malki scored 225 and Saloom had 185.
Al Awadhi thus advanced to face second seed Emerson Gotencio who had been playing well the entire tournament. Al Awadhi continued his fine form and won their match-up 244-154, setting up the clash for the title with Falah.
With his victory, Falah not only took him a glittering trophy, but he also came away with $3,200 in prize money. Al Awadhi went home with $1,800, while Gotencio won $1,000.
Prior to the step-ladder, Falah had earned the number one seed after topping the third round of play, which featured six games. The national team star posted an average of 239.67 pins per game with a 1,438 total in first place. His best games were in the second and fourth, where he scored 267 and 268, respectively.
Gotencio followed suit in second position with a 233 average and a 1,398 total. His best game was his first, when he scored 256.
Saloom ranked third with a 227.67 average and 1,276 total, while Al Malki was fourth on a 226.67 average and 1,360 total with Al Awadhi fifth with marks of 224.83 and 1,349.
A total of 16 players competed in round three.
Narrowly missing out on qualifying for the step-ladder were bowlers ranked sixth through 10th, namely Abdulla Al Murbati, Abdulaziz Al Zayani, Essa Taqi, Ahmed Al Goud and Tin Tin Cruz.
Those who finished 11th through 16th were Siddiq Siddiq, Ahmed Jabbar, Ali Al Helo, Abdulrahman bin Abdulla, Mohammed Abdulla and Yousif Al Saud.
Following all the action, Falah and the tournament’s other winners were presented their prizes in an awarding ceremony. Handing over the accolades were Funland’s Adel Rasti and other officials.